2010 Garden Peek-tures

[dcyrilc]

I just saw this thread!!!

Great pics and awesome garden...

thanks for sharing..


J

Better than mine...the only things really doing well in mine are the garlic, onions, and weeds.:laughing:

BTW, how do I know when the onions and garlic are ready? This is the first time I have grown them.

 

[Duffster]

Better than mine...the only things really doing well in mine are the garlic, onions, and weeds.:laughing:

BTW, how do I know when the onions and garlic are ready? This is the first time I have grown them.

My first year with them too.

It is my understanding that you pull the garlic when the bottom half of the plant has died.

My onions all laid over flat and all of my garden "consultants" said I should pull them and hang them to let dry.

 

[dcyrilc]

My first year with them too.

It is my understanding that you pull the garlic when the bottom half of the plant has died.

My onions all laid over flat and all of my garden "consultants" said I should pull them and hang them to let dry.

I thought it was the garlic which is hung to dry. Is onion hung as well?

 

[Duffster]

I thought it was the garlic which is hung to dry. Is onion hung as well?

Yes but I sure opinions vary.

I hung some of them in the root cellar and cut the tops off some and laid them out in a single layer to dry.

200 down, 1000 to go. :confused2:

 

[jinman]

My first year with them too.

It is my understanding that you pull the garlic when the bottom half of the plant has died.

My onions all laid over flat and all of my garden "consultants" said I should pull them and hang them to let dry.

As long as there is green on the onion tops and they aren't going to seed, the onions should continue to grow. I know folks who break over their onion tops so they get more sunlight onto the tops than when they are standing up. I planted my onions late, so they are mostly between a golf ball and a tennis ball size. I watch for the ground to crack as an indication that the onion is starting to ball up in the ground.

For preservation, we always pulled the onions and left the tops on. We'd rinse off the dirt, but not pull any of the outer skin off. Also, we cut the roots off. Like potatoes, we'd put them in a cool place with plenty of ventilation. I don't remember ever losing many onions to rotting. I haven't grown that many in a long time. Most of what I grow, I either eat or give away within a couple of weeks after pulling. Last night I grilled three onions with my grilled squash and grilled pork chops. They were all terrific.

As far as garlic goes, I don't have any now, but we used to just let it grow and grow and only dig out what we needed. I don't know if that is right, but I see garlic growing here in many gardens where it obviously comes back year after year. My wife pointed to some "wildflowers" in an old abandoned vacant lot and asked me what the big round balls were. I laughed and told her that was a patch of garlic going to seed. Then I pointed out several other patches that were similar around people's country houses. Now she knows what garlic looks like.

 

[randy41]

I am digging my garlic now. When most of the leaves are dead looking it is the time to dig. If you leave it in the soil the heads start breaking apart into cloves. I lay my onions out in the sun flat on a table to dry.

 

[Duffster]

As long as there is green on the onion tops and they aren't going to seed, the onions should continue to grow. I know folks who break over their onion tops so they get more sunlight onto the tops than when they are standing up.

That is good to know.

 

[jimmyj]

Nice gardens guys. I'm afraid that ours is totally weed filled this year. No time.

 

[jinman]

Nice gardens guys. I'm afraid that ours is totally weed filled this year. No time.

I have weeds too, Jim, but I'm good at taking pictures where they don't show much.